Joan Hotchkis
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Joan Hotchkis (born September 21, 1927 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress of stage, screen and television, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Nancy Cunningham, sometime girlfriend of Oscar Madison on the television version of The Odd Couple. She also played Ellen, the wife, in the Emmy-winning series My World and Welcome to It. Her film work includes the role of Mama Hartley in "Ode to Billy Joe" (1976), William Holden's ex-wife Paula in "Breezy" (1973), and Bissie Hapgood in "Legacy" (1975), which she wrote and starred in. Her stage work includes Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in the 1950s and 60s. In the 1980s, she played lead roles at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Company, Tennessee Repertory, Cincinnati Playhouse, and the Los Angeles Theater Center.
Most recently, Hotchkis wrote and performed two solo performance pieces. The first was "Tearsheets: Rude Tales from the Ranch," which toured the U.S. through 1991, then went abroad to the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe, where it was the only U.S. production to win a Fringe First Award. Her second solo work was "Elements of Flesh: Or Screwing Saved My Ass" (1996), about aging and sexuality. She is currently working on a new solo play.
Hotchkis co-wrote with Eric Morris the acting manual, "No Acting Please" (1977), still used in colleges and conservatories. She is a lifetime member of the Actor's' Studio and the Dramatists' Guild.
